Dreaming of Dresses: Juniper Cardi Pattern Review

On this icy cold and snowy "spring" day, I bring you what I think will become a wardrobe workhorse once the weather gets a bit milder. Let me introduce: the Juniper Cardi by Jennifer Lauren Handmade.

My summer and winter wardrobes are far from identical. In the summer period, I wear 50's style summer dresses whenever I can, with the occasional tunics and leggings for more practical wear. In the autumn, winter and most of the spring, however, I almost exclusively wear skirts in 40's, 60's and 70's styles with different sweaters and blouses.

By this point, I am sick of all my skirt options. Pants are non-negotiable. I LOOOONG to wear my pretty, pretty dresses, and that means cardis. Lots and lots of cardis. In the spring and autumn, they provide warmth and in the height of summer, they provide protection from the sun.

The Juniper Cardi is a classic cardi but with a fun saddle back shoulder detail. It comes in both a cropped and a longline version and with several sleeve options.

For my first go, I made the cropped version with 3/4 length sleeves, as this is my favourite length to wear with my dresses. I am between a size 10 and 12 in the size chart, but went down to a straight size 10, and could perhaps have gone even further down or sewn the side seams with a slightly bigger seam allowance for a more fitted look.

I sewed the cardigan in a beautiful "Ritual" jersey from John Kaldor via Minerva Crafts. It is a poly/spandex blend and has a good drape. Almost too good, actually, as it is a bit thin and flimsy to work with. This stuff is not for beginners!

The construction is very simple, but still interesting due to the saddle shoulder. With a bit of careful pinning, going slow on the overlocker and some clever nothes on the pattern it, went together beautifully ;)

I did have problems with my buttonholes, so I took it as a sign to try out some press studs instead. These are from Stof&Stil.

All in all, this will be a great little layering cardi. I would change the fabric type for next time to beef it up a bit, but in this weight it will be perfect for summer here in Denmark.However, the length is perfect for my full dresses and skirts and I love all the little details. I might sew up an entire rainbow of these :)
I have also seen some cute colorblocked cardis with a similar sleeve in Hogwarts House colors that would be fun to recreate! Should I go with Rawenclaw or Gryffindoor?

Disclaimer: I did receive this pattern for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Holiday Hostess - Minerva Crafts Blog Post

Hi again, I'm back today to tell you that my 3rd project for the Minerva Craft blog just went live! Read it here!

This dress is the ultimate combination of my love of cute vintage dresses and my love of Christmas. I LOOOOVE Christmas and always have. I love the food, the treats, the music and of course spending time with friends and family. Christmas for me is the essence of what we in Denmark call "hygge".

For my fabric, I choose 3 meters of this fun and festive polycotton with red and silver baubles on a navy blue background to make a fun and festive holiday dress. I underlined the dress in brushed cotton and it feels very luxurious next to the skin. I have a mini tutorial for doing the underlining in the Minerva blog post, so head on over there for that or see my Giga Gingham dress - the technique is the same, it's just a bit more thoroughly explained in the Minerva post ;)

The pattern is the boatneck bodice from Gerties Ultimate Dress Book with a gathered dirndl and a hem ruffle (It is a current obsession - see my Halloween skirt). I also added some red piping to highlight the design lines.

A big thank you to Minerva Crafts for sponsoring the materials for this dress, I cannot wait to wear it for dancing around the Christmas Tree on the 24th!

/Angelica

Back to School - Minerva Crafts Guest Post

I have always LOVED the back-to-school season. I'm the annoying type of person who yearns to go back to school after just a few weeks of holiday, and even though 10 weeks of almost unlimited sewing time has been AWESOME, this year is no different.

One of the most important things to get ready for the new school year, besides books and stationery, is, of course, a chic and stylish autumn-appropriate wardrobe. And what is more appropriate than tartan? Nothing, that is!

A big thank you to Minerva Craft for all the materials used for this project. If you want to read more about the making of this skirt as well as see a lot more pictures, head on over to my post on the Minerva Crafts Blog!

/Angelica

A Slice of Black Forest....

... with a cherry on top! This is what this me-made outfit reminds me off!

And who wouldn't like a slice of cake with the weather we have here in Denmark at the moment? There was rain and thunder outside during my little photoshoot :(

Cake and weather aside, this skirt is the How To Do Fashion "No. 8 Svaneke" skirt with 6 panels and the box pleat hack as described in this blog post from Nanna. In these pictures, I am wearing it with the zipper at the side, but it can also be worn with the zipper at the back, as shown on the dressform below, depending if you like the pleats meeting at mid front or not.

I made it up in this cherry print polycotton from Minerva Craft, a birthday gift from my boyfriend back in April. I got 14 m in total for my birthday, so expect to hear that phrase again soon, lol.

I used some waistband interfacing tape from my moms stash (thanks, mom!) for the waistband instead of the included waistband pattern piece, as I prefer the look of it. For the length of the waistband I just measured the waistband of one of my beloved Hollyburn skirts and added 1 cm of seam allowance on each end.

To add some extra interest to the skirt, I added 2 rows of bright red cotton tape to the hem of the skirt. I REALLY love how it turned out, reminds me of the navy and white trimmings on vintage sailor dresses.

The black color of the fabric did fade a bit during washing & drying and it shrunk a bit under too hot an iron, but I love it anyway. Using polycotton like this is fast becoming my go-to for 50's inspired dresses and skirts because of the slight stiffness and fun prints and also for wearable muslins because of the cheap price tag.

The top is the SeamWork Elmira Cardigan. I have wanted to make this since it came out and finally found the time to sew it.

The fabric is a wonderfully soft viscose & lycra jersey, also from Minerva Crafts. Somehow it is opaque enough as one layer on the back and sleeves while being thin enough not to be too bulky for the double-layer fronts and tie pieces. It was a bit fiddly to work with, though, but I would not hesitate to buy it again.

At first, I made the cardigan up as written in the instructions, but I absolutely HATED the way the left front tie sat in the side seam. It weighed the side seam down and made it impossible to adjust the waist using the ties. In the end, I chopped the left tie off while taking the side seams in anyway, cut it 30 cm shorter and sewed it back on at the short edge of the front piece.
This way, both fronts has the tie piece as an extension of the wrap, but one tie is shorter than the other. To wear it, I wrap the side with the short end over first and then wrap the side with the long tie over and around my back, to meet the short tie at the opposite side seam. (I hope that makes sense)

For next time, I have traced off a second, shorter tie pattern piece for the left side, and might put a buttonhole/slit in the left side seam to make the wrapping a bit easier and/or neater.

I made a size small despite being a medium in the size chart. I will recommend sizing down in all knit patterns from SeamWork and Colette if you have narrow shoulders and/or an A/B cup like me.

All in all, I really love these two items, especially worn together like this. The outfit is just vintage-inspired enough without being costume-y or unpractical. I did wear a petticoat for the pictures, but the skirt is lovely without it as well :)

I will leave you with this cute picture of Marie sitting on the cherry skirt. Have a nice weekend!

Disclaimer: I did receive the How To Do Fashion pattern for free as part of being a pattern tester. All opinions are my own.